A Leeds man who has claimed to be a drug dealer has spoken out about gang warfare plaguing Leeds estates.
The man, who gave his name as Jonathan Ledger, lives in Little London and can be seen travelling around the Leeds area on his bicycle and wearing a baseball cap.
The 27-year-old has lived in Little London, in Woodhouse, since February last year when he was released from prison.
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When asked by a LeedsLive reporter what he did for a living, Jonathan claimed to sell drugs, before opening up about a "chaotic" life in the Little London area.
Jonathan said: “It’s nice through the day. At night it’s chaos. Everyone is running from each other and cutting each other.
"This estate is warring with Chapeltown, chopping each other up, same with the Hyde Park lot. We don’t get along with Hyde Park.
“Leeds 6 and 7 don’t get along with 8 or 9. They’re all killing each other."
The 27-year-old says he tries to stay out of trouble and keeps his head down.
“I just do my own thing, innit. I don’t get on with anyone,” said Jonathan, who is originally from Roundhay.
He added: “It's like a postcode gang-war area. It’s always chaos around here. A kid got stabbed here the other day in a ginnel."
West Yorkshire Police has confirmed in east Leeds, knife attacks between teenage males in connection to organised drug chains, is a major problem.
Detective Superintendent Jaz Khan, Head of Crime for Leeds District, said: “We continue to take a very robust and proactive approach to tackling serious violence involving rival criminal groups, which has clear links to the organised supply of drugs at street level.
“We have seen a number of incidents, primarily in east Leeds, with young teenage males armed with knives inflicting and receiving very serious injuries. These cause understandable concern in our communities and cannot be tolerated.
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“We work closely with our partner agencies to address these issues in a number of ways, from specialist officers using a range of tactics to tackle serious and organised crime under Programme Precision to focused activity under Operation Jemlock targeting hotspot areas to reduce knife crime.
“There have been significant numbers of arrests and charges, and large quantities of weapons, drugs and cash have been seized.
“We have also made very effective use of increased stop and search powers under Section 60 to disrupt and deter the carrying of knives, and explore civil orders alongside criminal prosecutions to limit the harm offenders can cause.
“Officers from our local neighbourhood policing teams continue to play a key role in supporting and reassuring our communities and identifying and disrupting those who carry weapons and involve themselves in incidents of this nature.
“We know communities are supportive of our efforts to take positive action against those involved in these incidents, and I want to reassure them that we will be continuing to do everything we can to keep their areas safe.”
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